McGee: Pool boy? No thanks.

Summertime is in full swing on the High Plains, complete with pulling weeds, blazing hot days, mowing weeds, occasional rain, pulling weeds and dips in the family pool.

The Lady of the House has been enjoying the family pool this year. She’s finally got the pool maintenance thing down to an art.

“Didn’t you promise to be my ‘pool boy’?” asked The Lady of the House as she skimmed the pool for leaves and such.

“Well…” I said as I floated luxuriously on one of the inflatables while nattily attired in Hawaiian swim trunks and shirt, sunglasses and a broad, shady hat.

“Don’t you remember?” she asked as she added more chlorine to the water.

I did promise. It was almost two years ago when we were visiting family in the Florida panhandle and I was off to visit my mom way down in south Florida. The Lady of the House was dreading the 10-hour trek south. I managed to coax her to go with me with the promise of a nice swimming pool awaiting us at my brother’s groovy pad.

She dreamed of floating in crystal waters as the tortuous highway miles dragged by.

There was no pool at my brother’s groovy pad.

I had honestly mixed up my brother’s old groovy pad with his new groovy pad.

That’s when I promised The Lady of the House a nice pool for our High Plains back yard and my servitude as her ‘pool boy.’

“How about if I do something better?” I asked The Lady of the House.

“What’s that,” she said as she backwashed the filter.

“I get you one of those Aqua Buggy thingys that mosey around the bottom of the pool all day sucking up the dirt?”

“Anything to get you out of work,” said The Lady of the House, smiling.

“Well…” I said.

Grant McGee is a long-time broadcaster and former truck driver who rides bicycles and likes to talk about his many adventures on the road of life. Contact him at: